O'Driscoll out of Six Nations

Ireland rugby captain Brian O'Driscoll has been ruled out of action for up to six months and will miss his country's Six Nations campaign when the annual tournament kicks off in February.

The 32-year-old, who confirmed the news on Leinster's website, has struggled with an injury to his neck and shoulder for almost a year and has decided to have surgery, with a likely return in May.

Leinster said in a statement: "It has been confirmed that Brian O'Driscoll will undergo surgery next week for a trapped nerve in his shoulder which is expected to rule the Ireland captain out for up to six months."

The loss of O'Driscoll will be a big blow for the province, which has been without its 32-year-old skipper since Ireland's Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat by Wales in Wellington.

O'Driscoll, who earned the first of his 117 Ireland caps in 1999, will now face a race against time to return to fitness before the end of the season.

The centre is Ireland's record try scorer and in 2011 he broke the 78-year-old record set by Scotland's Ian Smith as the all-time Five/Six Nations top try scorer when he crossed for his 25th championship try against England.

Leinster will begin the defence of its European Cup crown against Montpellier this weekend.